Fire and Ice
by Kurai-Shimo
Summary: What's up with the new Nobody XIII? Why does her fate seem to be entwined with that of the Organizaton's members? Can she stay behind the scenes and keep things in order, or will she soon surface into the Kingdom Hearts saga?
1. Chapter One

Fire and Ice 

_Chapter One_

**I** didn't have the slightest idea how I ended up in a backspace world like that. One minute, I just woke up and I existed. Just like that. I had only a tattered white dress on and I was curled into a ball in the back corner of an alleyway I had never even seen before.

In fact, I had never seen anything before. I couldn't remember who I was, where I came from… not even my own name or age. I was skinny, stupid and nearly naked in some alleyway. This is the beginning of my journey. My life filled with love, happiness, sadness, hope, dreams and despair. Except none of that is true, because I don't know what any of that is like. I'm a nobody. Nobodies can't be happy or sad.

My name is Kaxer. And this is my story.

Damn, I've always wanted to say that.

I heard a voice after a while. I had been sitting in the alleyway for quite sometime and I heard a sickly-sweet voice saying things like, "I wonder if she's here." and "Come here, darling." That sort of thing.

The source of the voice passed by my little alcove and he was… interesting. He had silver hair and it fell down his back and then it spiked crazily at the tips. It seemed to fly rom behind his ears, like he'd jammed his tounge into an electrical socket.He wore a long black coat with a hood on the back. The hem of the coat brushed the ground as he walked by me. I pulled my knees up to my chin and clasped my arms around them. I crossed my feet at the ankles and attempted to shake some of my long sandy colored hair around me. It worked like a charm and soon, it covered me like a curtain.

All my moving around got the man's attention and he turned and looked at me. He stretched out his hand to me and said, "Come with me. I'll help you. What have you go to lose?"

The question hit me like a rock to the head. What _did_ I have to lose? I had no name, age, friends… no identity. The man helped me to my feet, I was a bit unsteady for a moment, but soon I got my feet under me and I was walking directly behind him. We walked through the abandoned streets of the creepy city for quite a while until we came to a large, white castle. Behind it was a moon in the shape of a heart. The man saw me looking at it and said:

"Kingdom Hearts."

**

* * *

**

The man with silver hair, Xemnas as I was told, took me to his office. It was a big white room with a big white desk and two big white chairs, one in front of the desk and the other was behind the desk. He motioned from me to sit in the chair in front of the desk while he sat in one behind the desk.

He looked at me for a moment. Then, he bent over and rummaged through a drawer. Finally, he sat up and tossed me a big black mass of cloth. I held it up and looked at it. It was a black coat, just like his, but in a muchsmaller size. I only came to his shoulders and was skinnier.

He waved me into a room behind his desk without so much as a word of what I was supposed to _do_ with the stupid thing. As if I knew.

I stood in the new room for a moment. It too had white walls but it also had a mirror and a small bench. On the small bench were some _more_ clothes. Some black under-drawers I guessed, so I put them on first. Then, a pair of black pants with pockets on the sides, I put them on next. I examined my self in the mirror. Then, I picked up…a thing. I moved it around on my body until I thought it was where it was supposed to go. I found out quickly that it looked best across my chest and so I clasped it and left it there. Then I picked up a black shirt and pulled it over my head. It had no sleeves somy arms and shoulderswere completely bare. I looked at the cloak suspiciously. How many clothes could a person wear?

I unzipped the zipper and unclasped the silver thing near the neck. I slid my arms through the sleeves and it fit _perfectly_. How strange. When zipped, it hugged my ribs tightly and pressed my chest nearly flat, but it was almost that way to begin with. I neatly clasped the neck-thing and looked around. The dressing room was…no wait. There was something else in the corner. A pair of black shoes. I put them on and wiggled my toes. This would take some getting used to.

I looked at the door I had come through. I walked over to it and took the doorknob in my hand. I turned it and opened the door. I stepped out and saw Xemnas at his desk, hunched over some papers.

"Sir." I said.

He calmly turned around and looked at me. His orange eyes grew wide and then he smiled, "Lovely. Gorgeous. Spectacular. Beautiful. Striking. Remark-"

"I get the point." I interrupted.

"Good." He said, then he looked in another desk drawer and handed me a pair of…gloves. That's the word. How did I know that? I hadn't known the word a second ago…

I put the gloves on and flexed my hands.

"Welcome to Organization XIII, Kaxer, you are number XIII. The new one at least." He smiled.

"New?" I asked.

"Never mind the old one. He was…a fool. You will learn so much more later."

Xemnas looked at me standing there stupidly. Now what?

As if he read my mind, he said, "Now, you can go to your room if you'd like. Here's a Darkness Door, step through it and go to your room." He reached he reached out with his hand and a swirling, black and purple vortex of doom appeared. I looked at it and then leapt through.

* * *

I fell out of the swirling vortex of doom in a new room. This one, like the others was white. It had four walls and a door on one side. There were no windows and the light seemed to come from nowhere. The floor was pure white carpet and there was a bed in the corner. There was a white blanket folded on it and a few white pillows. All of this was lying on a goose-down comforter. On the other side of the room was a small white dresser. I walked over to the dresser and opened one of the drawers. In it was another black coat and a set of clothes identical to the ones I was wearing. Spares, I supposed. 

I opened another drawer and found a…hair brush…hair ties… I hadn't known what they were about two seconds ago. It was like I had forgotten all about everything and it was slowly leaking back to me. I took the brush and swept it through my long hair. Then, I took a hair tie and tied the hair in place at the nape of my neck. All the other drawers were empty.

On the back of the door was another mirror. I looked at my self again. The black coat was long and flowing and mysterious. I liked it. I practiced my mean face by scrunching my eyebrows together and frowning. I practiced many faces between that time and the knock on my door.

I walked to the door and opened it a little bit. I looked at the man who stood there. He was taller than I was and he had hair the same color as mine, but his was slicked up like a mohawk.

"Hello," I said, "Can I help you?"

"You're new right?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Right. Of course. I'm Demyx and I thought that you might want to get some food," he smiled.

"No thank you." I said, closing the door.

"Sorry," He said, putting a foot in the doorI was trying to close, "You'll have to come along because Xemnas told me to take you to the lounge anyways. I just thought we could get some food on the way."

"Fine." I huffed, opening the door and stepping out. I jammed my hands into my pockets and waited. Demyx watched me, a small smile playing across his lips.

"You got something to say?" I asked.

"Nope. Just thought…never mind."

"Well, lets go!" I suggested hastily, waving my hands around.

"Right…of course…" Demyx said, walking towards the staircase.

"We aren't going to use a…Darkness Door?" I asked.

"I don't see any reason too." He smiled, "Besides, it's not _that_ long of a walk."

We started walking and after a while Demyx looked at me and said, "So…what's your element?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your…power… you know…like water, earth…fire…"

"Ice." I said the first thing that popped into my head. Wait a second, _powers?_ I had no _powers…_ I hoped he didn't ask me to-

"Well, let's see them." He said.

"Oh—okay." I said. Great. Now what? I laid my hands on the steps and concentrated really hard. I thought about the stairs turning into a large ice ramp…I thought it…pictured it in my head. I felt my hands getting extremely cold and then…

There was a crackling noise and I heard Demyx yell. I looked up and saw him slipping on…was that _ice?_

"Whoa!" he yelled as he went sliding down the ramp. I held out my hand again and he grabbed my fingers. I pulled him to the stairs that weren't frozen.

"Sweet!" he cried, "Let's go!"

I looked at it and then yelled, "GO!" and we both leapt onto the ice and started sliding.

It was incredibly fun and I had done it all by myself. I looked over at Demyx and saw him sliding and laughing like crazy. I smiled, while thinking that I might have made a newfriend.

When we reached the bottom, I was sad that it was over. I turned around and imagined the ice being gone, and then it was.

"Amazing!" cried Demyx, "We'll have to do that again sometime!"

"Yeah." I said.

"Now we use the Darkness Door," said Demyx.

"Why now?"

"Because we want to look professional," he grinned and opened a door. I stepped through wondering what waited on the other side.

* * *

Goodness gracious, whatever shall it be? Well, I know that there's only a handfull of people out there who actually _enjoy_ original character stories, but they are _so _fun to write. 

Especially Kaxer (rhymes with 'laser' and 'razor') because she's everything I'm not. I wouldn't want her as a friend though, she can be rather rude...


	2. Chapter Two

Fire and Ice

_Chapter Two_

I stepped through wondering what waited on the other side. I stepped into; you guessed it, another white room. This room had six men playing cards at a long table. There were seven empty chairs at the other end of the table. Three on each side, one large, ornamented one at the head.

"That's rummy on the board, dude, you can't do that." Said one with a long salt-and-pepper colored ponytail. He also had an eye patch.

"Since when?" asked one with _very_ long braids that had been pulled into a pony tail only leaving two that framed his face and his wily sideburns to hang down.

"Since forever." Replied one with long blue hair and a cross-shaped scar across the bridge of his nose.

"Look Fellows," said one with blonde hair, "Shut your mouths or don't play at all."

"This is so stupid." Said one with bright red, spiky hair.

"Xigbar, Xaldin, Saix, Luxord and Axel, respectively." Said Xenmas, suddenly appearing out of nowhere, "And I guess you already know Demyx."

"So…" I counted in my head, "Organization XIII has eight members? Oh, _genius._"

"Great," said Xigbar, "A wise ass."

"You're too kind," I smiled at him.

"Why is she _here _though?" asked Axel.

"Because, we need her assistance." Said Xemnas.

"In what? Sewing?" he asked sarcastically. He strolled over to Demyx and I, so I stepped in front of Demyx and stood my ground.

"Look girly, it's real cute and all but the jig is up. You can't handle the Organization," he shrugged, "Besides, I'm afraid you might hurt yourself. Too much strain and all…"

He looked at me pitifully. I gritted my teeth in hopes that I could control my anger. It wasn't working out so well. I placed my hands on my hips and yelled, "Well, if you're so sure of yourself, prove it!"

This seemed to hit Axel like a rock to the head. His jaw slacked and his eyes widened. He looked at Xemnas, who shrugged unconcernedly. Then, he regained himself and asked, "Prove what, Princess?"

"It's Kaxer, and prove that you can handle it." I said. It never occurred to me that I was digging myself into a hole, inch by bloody inch.

"I don't need to prove myself to you." He said and turned on his heel, leaving. I reached out with my hand and hoped that what I was about to do worked. It did and Axel went sprawling across a sheet of ice that had…magically…appeared under his feet.

"Oops." I looked at him and poked my lip out with 'concern', "Did you…strain yourself?"

Then, Axel touched my ice sheet and it turned to water. He smiled and walked through the puddle over to me. He reached down and grabbed my upper arms and lifted me off the ground to his eyes, which blazed with anger and humiliation.

"Fire beats Ice, Kaxer. Don't fool yourself into thinking you can replace any of the fallen members because you can't. You'll never be as good as any of them. Remember that."

Then, he dropped me on the ground and stalked out of the room. Demyx reached down and grabbed my arm by the same spot and I flinched but let him help me up. Xemnas looked at us and said, "I trust there will be no further outbursts today?"

I nodded to him and he seemed satisfied enough because he opened a darkness door and left. I sighed and made a mental note to watch out for that Axel guy.

"Don't let him get to you, kid. Axel's just steamed 'cuz you took his friend's spot." Said Xigbar.

"His friend?" I asked.

"The old XIII." Said Luxord smoothly, looking at Axel's cards. The cards levitated and flew over to him. He caught them and then everyone else let go of their cards. They flew over to Luxord who shuffled them into the deck.

"What…what happened to him?" I asked nervously.

"He betrayed us!" exploded Saix, slamming his hand onto the table, "The bloody little fool completed Sora!"

"Down boy." Said Xaldin. Saix sat down and muttered his complaints.

"He learned who his somebody was and it made him angry," said Luxord, "He left the Organization and then… Axel, who was his best friend, went looking for him… but Roxas didn't even know who Axel was. It hurt Axel badly and then…Roxas went and completed Sora…Axel is just…confused right now…"

"So how is that my fault?" I demanded, "It's not like I did anything!"

"Axel needs someone to blame…you just happened to bet tied up in the middle. You'll get over it," said Xaldin.

"Well that's not fair." I retorted.

"Nothing is fair anymore." Muttered Demyx from behind me.

I turned to say something but I saw him looking rather downcast and staring at his toes. I growled and stomped out of the room.

**

* * *

**

"Stupid people and stupid idiots and their stupid scheming…" I grumbled as I trudged up the long, spiraling staircase, "I don't even know what's going on!"

I wanted to be angry, but I couldn't do it. I felt hollow inside… and it hurt. It wasn't a sharp, stabbing pain, but a dull, aching pain in my chest and it vibrated through me. I didn't feel angry, but I was by no means happy. It was like I wasn't feeling at all…

I shook my head, attempting to clear my thoughts. I turned and sat down on a stair. I made a mental list of things to do soon. It consisted of:

1) Find out exactly _what _this place is

2) Ask someone about a Darkness Door and how one goes about operating it

3) Avoid Axel at any costs

4) Try to make allies

5) Research this Roxas kid everyone talks about all the time

6) Lastly, seek training

I decided that the items on the list did not need to be carried out in that order. I placed my elbows on my knees and held my chin in my hands. I was lost deep in thought when someone came and tapped me on the shoulder.

I shrieked and spun around quickly to see a young girl looking at me. She had pale-yellow hair and big, smiling blue eyes. I smiled at her and said, "Um…hi…"

"Hi," She smiled, taking a seat next to me, "I'm Namine."

"I'm Kaxer," I said, "Enchante."

"Enchante."

She looked me over for a moment and then pulled a sketchbook seemingly out of nowhere. She smiled at me and turned and leaned against the railing where I could not see the drawing. She kept looking at me and then she'd scribble something on the paper.

"Writing a book?" I asked her eventually.

"No," she said simply, "I'm coloring."

"Ah," I smiled.

"Do you have weapons?" asked Namine.

"Wuh—weapons? I don't know. Heck, I didn't know I could freeze things until today," I shrugged, "Besides, even if I did, I don't know how to fight or anything."

"Let's see…" muttered Namine, "Think of something that makes you think you'reangry. Really, really angry and picture that thing in your head."

I closed my eyes and searched the small file of today's events. After all, there was nothing before today… Then I remembered that Axel guy.

It was as if someone flicked on a switch. Suddenly, I was clenching my fists and gritting my teeth. There was the sensation of heat and all of a sudden, I was holding something in each hand…

I looked at my hands and in each hand, was a short sword. Each one was about a foot and a half long including the hiltand neither of them hand a hand guard. Justtwo simple blades. I was astounded. I had never seen these things before in my life.

I looked at Namine with utter amazement. She just giggled and scribbled on the paper some more.

I held the swords for a moment longer. I laid the left one on the stair andI took off one glove. I flicked the edge of the right blade across my thumb. It made a fresh cut and I smiled, the blades were sharp and clean.

I put the glove back on and looked at Namine.

"You might want to put those away now," She suggested.

"Well…how?" I asked.

"Just imagine them being gone."

"Oh," I imagined the swords disappearing, and believe it or not, they did.

"After you practice it…" said Namine, pausing to flip her pencil over to the eraser side, "You don't have to get angry to call them. You just think it and it happens."

"Oh. Thank you," I said, "Namine?"

"Yes."

"What _is_ this place, exactly?" I asked.

"It's hard to explain," she said, "But we live here because no one else wants us. We cannot function among the 'somebodies' and so, here we are. Most of us start out here, in the city. Did you?"

"Yes," I said, "So it's like an orphanage?"

"In a respect, yes."

Ah. Goal #1, accomplished.

"Hey Namine?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

"Anytime," She said, turning the sketchbook towards me. It was a colored drawing of a girl with sandy blonde hair in a long ponytail and in each hand was a kodachi. It was a picture of me.

In the picture, I was yelling at another figure. The figure wore the long black coat and had spikey red hair and blazing green eyes. It was Axel. Behind us stood each member of the Organization.

It was our confrontation from a while ago.

How had she known that's exactly what I had been thinking about the entire time we were talking?


	3. Chapter Three

Fire and Ice

_Chapter three_

Namine gave me the picture and I thanked her for it, assuring her that I would tack it to my wall when I got in my room. I sprinted up the spiraling staircase the rest of the way. Feeling better, and yet more confused, than ever.

I ran into my room and placed the picture on my dresser, looking about for something to hang it with. I pulled an ice spike out of the air and thought about tacking it up on the wall with that. I realized that it would melt, destroying the picture. So I dismissed the spike and placed the picture safely in an empty drawer.

I re-examined my self in the mirror. My face was flushed and slightly pink from the run up the stairs. My hair was out of place from my tussle with Axel. This angered me, so I decided to remedyit by taking out a hairbrush and re-doing my hair.

Finally, I unzipped my coat and slid my left arm out of the sleeve. It had been bothering me slightly since Axel had picked me up by it. Of course, he used both arms, but he grabbed this one harder. I looked at the place and saw that it was beginning to bruise faintly. Oh well.

I checked the right arm as well, but it didn't look like it was going to pose a problem. I pulled the sleeves back up and zipped the coat. I drew the hood up and looked at my self in the mirror. It was cool and mysterious. Neat.

I practiced my poses, should I ever meet anyone I wanted to impress. One was both hands at my sides, sort of an 'at-ease' pose. The other one was a 'thoughtful' looking one- One hand near my chin, the other arm stretched across my body to my opposite hip. Then a fighting pose, my arms stretched out like a bird's wings, my feet were at least a shoulder width apart.

I then took the opportunity to practice summoning my kodachi. It took a moment, and I decided that 'a moment' would do me no good in a surprise attack. I finally got them to show up and I quickly practiced looking cool in my mirror. I held the blades in an X-shape and I flailed them around and spun with them. The fun was endless…until a knock on my door interrupted my pleasurable moment.

I put both kodachi in one hand and walked to the door. First, I let down my hood and then I pulled the door open. It was Demyx. I opened the door up a little further and let him in. I closed the door back and walked over to where he stood now.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking at me.

"Of course, why?"

"You seemed angry when you left. You stomped out yelling about how we were all stupid."

"Oh…that," I said, "I didn't mean you."

"It's okay if you did," He said, "Most people don't like me anyways. Mostly just Axel…and Roxas… I mean, he used to."

"I'm sorry," I said almost randomly.

"For what?"

"Calling you all stupid. I guess it wasn't very nice. So I'm sorry," I said, looking away from him.

"You don't like it, do you?"

I turned rapidlyand faced him, "What?"

"Apologizing. You must not like it, you aren't very good at it." he said, chuckling. I did not find it funny.

We stood silently for a moment. Demyx finally asked me, "You got weapons?"

"What? Oh these?" I brandished my kodachi, "Yeah, I did. Neat, huh?"

"Yup," He said.

"Demyx? Can you… fight me?" I asked.

"Why?"

"Because I want to see how good I am." I stated.

"Well, I'm not any good…" he said sadly, scuffing a toe against my carpet.

"Well, neither am I, so it's even." I smiled.

"Okay… let me think… um… where can we go…" he scratched his chin. Soon, he snapped his fingers and said, "Ah ha! I know exactly where to go!"

He reached out at a wall and I studied what he was doing _very _carefully. He reached out and focused on the wall. He flexed his gloved and it went, _shoop_, Darkness Door A La Mode.

He held it open with his foot and swept his hand through, allowing me to go first.

* * *

We stepped into a bleak, blue and black looking cave. I was thoroughly freaked out by the ever-present fog swirling around my feet and the rocks that looked like they were going to fall on my head and kill me. 

Demyx stepped through and the Door dissolved quickly behind him. He smiled at the place fondly.

"What is this place?" I asked.

"The underworld," he said. Seeing my eyebrows raise doubtfully, he said, "No really, it's in another world. It's called the Underworld."

"How do you know about it?" I asked.

"I came here the other day, to…borrow something," he said.

"What did you borrow?" I asked nosily.

"This," he said, holding up a small yellow stone with a cloud and a lightning bolt on it. He tossed it to me and said, "You hold it for me."

I put it in my pocket without thinking. Then I said, "Okay, let's do it."

"okay…" he said uncertainly, cracking his knuckles. A white light flooded the room and when it dimmed, he was holding a blue sitar.

"Nice," I said, getting in what I guessed was a ready position.

"Dance, water, Dance!" he yelled, strumming out a quick melody on his sitar. Soon, little water people rose from the floor.

"Doppelgangers?" I said.

"Oh yeah!" he yelled over his own music.

The doppelgangers swarmed at me and I furiously hacked at them with my kodachi. Then, I had an idea. The next doppelganger that came at me, I reached inside him and froze him, quickly removing my hand. I hit him with my Kodachi, one from each angle, and it exploded. Soon, the first layer was gone but more kept coming. I decided to focus on Demyx, not the doppelgangers. I sliced cleanly through one of them and ran for Demyx.

He held up his sitar to block my attack, but it phased right through me, even though I dealt damage to him. He dropped to his knees weakly.

"Demyx!" I yelled, rushing to him, "What _was_ that?"

"The Underworld's curse," he said, "It drains everyone here."

"Then why didn't it drain me?" I asked, helping him up. He simply patted my leg where my pocket was, where the rock was.

"The stone wards off the curse." He said.

I heard echoing footsteps and a young boy's voice say, "Over here guys!"

"Gawrsh, Sora. This place sure is creepy…" said a weird voice. There was another weird sounding, squeaky voice that I couldn't under stand very well. It sounded like, "I don't like it either…" or something like that.

Demyx gasped and held out his hand to me. He said, "The rock!"

I reached in my pocket and dug around for it, but the pocket was so big and the stone… it kept slipping…and the footsteps…they were coming closer…

"Hurry!" encouraged Demyx, shaking his hand urgently. I looked at him while trying to catch the stone that seemed to be evading my touch.

Demyx pulled up his hood to his coat and then he reached over and pulled up mine for me as well.

The boy's voice came again, louder this time, "Hey, do you hear that?" It was right outside our little cave!

I finally grabbed the stupid rock and yanked it from my pocket. I handed it to Demyx quickly and he put it in his own pocket.

"Hey!"

I turned around quickly and saw a boy in the entrance to the cave. He wore long, black shorts with yellow belts crossing all over them. He wore a black shirt and a little jacket over it. He held a… was that a giant _Key_?

Following close behind him was a humanoid figure that looked somewhat like a dog with orange pants and a green shirt covered by a black vest. He pointed at us and said, "Ahyuk, It's them Organization guys!"

"Yeah!" Yelled the boy, pointing his key at us, "That's them!"

"Roxas?" yelled Demyx, sounding almost hopeful.

"Excuse me?" cried the boy, raising an eyebrow.

"Roxas?" said Demyx again, pulling off his hood.

"What are you talking about?" asked the boy.

"Aw, it's no use." Said Demyx sadly. He pulled out a paper and looked at it while removing his hood.

"…If the subject fails to respond… use aggression to liberate his _true_ disposition…" Demyx read from the slip of paper. He shoved it back into his pocket and said, "Great. Boy did they pick the wrong two for this one."

"Two?" I hissed at him, "I wasn't even in on this!"

"Well, you are now Kaxer. Just act tough." He said.

"You two are bizarre…" said the boy.

"Ah…" Demyx pulled out the golden rock and showed it to the boy, who gasped.

"They've gotta be the thieves!" yelled the dog.

"Well, that's just plain _rude!"_ said Demyx, holding the stone over the two of us. A light flashed and swirled around us. Demyx pulled out his sitar and I summoned up my kodachi.

"Dance water dance!" yelled Demyx, Pulling out a tune from the instrument. At least a hundred of his doppelgangers rose from the ground and danced around the boy and his friends.

"Let's get frosty!" I yelled, holding up my arms and summoning a cold fog that encircled the boy. I was hoping to mess up his vision.

"Listen, Kaxer, you have to go back to the castle! If you got hurt, I'd get in trouble! You aren't even supposed to be here!" He yelled.

"I won't leave!" I yelled, trying to keep up the fog.

"You have to!" he yelled again, taking a hand from his sitar and opening a darkness door behind me. He shoved me through roughly and yelled, "Sorry!"

* * *

I fell out of the darkness door in a white room. My first instinct was to jump up and run back through the Darkness Door. But it dissolved before I could get to it. 

"Demyx!" I yelled, pounding my hands on the wall, "Demyx!"

"Would you shut up! I _was_taking a nap!" came and angry voice and I gasped and pressed back against the wall, thankful thatI was still wearing my hood.

I realized I was not in my room, but someone else's!

I glanced around and saw that the room had the same floor plan as mine and I looked at the bed. There was a large lump and it stirred and sat up and said, "Kaxer?"

I saw who it was… and I think I fainted.

* * *

A/N: Arg, Author notes.Anywho, Last chapter, I used the phrase, "Enchante." in Kaxer's meeting with Namine. Its french and I'm pretty sure it means, "Charmed." as in, "It's a pleasure to meet you." In this chapter, I used, "A La Mode" somwhere... I think it's somewhat french and I have no idea what it means. But it sounded cute.

Also, on another note, I haven't done a disclaimer with the story. So, here it is. I do not own, nor doI claim rights to, Kingdom Hearts or any of it's characters or games.

On a third note, I know the story isn't turning out so great. Axel seems horribly out of character. I'm afraid Kaxer is fallingthe descentinto Mary-Sue land. Oh well. Perhaps it'll make a turn around.

-Kurai


	4. Chapter Four

Fire and Ice

_Chapter Four_

When I finally woke up, I was no longer in the room I had fainted in. I didn't think I was even in the castle anymore. I sat up and rubbed the back of my head gingerly where I had fallen. My hood was still up, and I left it so.

I got to my feet and walked around silently for a minute. After a while, people started showing up, but they acted like they couldn't see me at all. They sat down in the many pews that were lined up. They were all facing the front of the room.

At the front of the room was an altar like thing. There was also a podium and some stairs that led to a small loft. A choir loft, I supposed. In fact, I guessed the room was a sanctuary or something.

I walked to the front of the room and looked at the altar. In front of it was a big shiny box with flowers piled on top of it. I reeled away from it quickly when I realized it was a coffin.

There was agirl standing in front of the box. She was about my height, about my size actually, which was small. She was looking at her feet and I couldn't see her face. She wore a straight blue dress with no sleeves. The dress only reached her knees and looked like a child's dress.

Suddenly. a man's voice boomed around the room, "We gather here today in loving memory of Mary Smith. A great wife, friend and mother."

At the word 'mother' the girl dropped to her knees. She cried into her hands but made no noise.

The man's voice came again, "And now, Lisa's daughter will say a few words. Ker— "

Static crackled through the air and everything froze. The scene jumped and a girl's face flashed across my plane of vision, like someone holding the picture right in my face.

The girl was smiling and waving and she had shoulder length brown hair. Her eyes were closed and she wore a red tank top over a white tank top. On each side of her was a boy. One with light green hair that was in his eyes even though a short braid fell down his back. He had a sullen, brooding look about him. The other boy looked happy as well as the girl, He had lavender hair that was long and brushed his shoulders.

The photo flashed away as quickly as it had come. Then, I saw the girl chasing the green haired boy down a cobble stone sidewalk. I followed them quickly and watched as the girl pounced the boy who just laughed and fell. Soon, the lavender haired one caught up to them, obviously tired from the run. The tired boy yelled, "I'm so tired! Eal, You and Ker—"

Static short across the screen again.

The three were in a living room of sorts and they were playing a board game. It was raining fiercely outside and with a crack of thunder, the door swung open and rain came pouring in. Then, someone wearing the Organization's uniform stepped through the door. He pointed at the girl and lots of black creatures with yellow eyes rose from the floor and crept toward her. Heartless?

The two boys valiantly jumped in front of her to save her, but they were no use. They batted the heartless away for quite sometime, even the girl tried to help. But the boys were no match, they submitted soon enough. Their lifeless forms lay on the ground like empty shells. I watched in horror as blackness crept up from their ankles to their heads and they became just like the shadow-creatures.

The girl backed away quickly as the man advanced on her. As he came closer, he said, "You should be honored. Your friends have strong hearts…as do you…anyone who would sacrifice themselves for another _must_ have a strong heart. Submit to the darkness. It is your _true_ path. It is where you belong, Ker—"

The static flooded my vision and then, I was in the church again. The little girl looked up and I saw a vacant look in her green eyes. It was the girl from before, I could tell. Even without the same clothes on, even without the vibrant spark in her eyes, like when she was chasing the green-headed boy. She had lost both her friends and now, I supposed, her mother. I saw no man in the front pews, so I guessed her father was gone as well.

"Wouldn't you like to say a few words? Ker—"

I screamed and jolted awake again, grabbing whatever was near me for comfort. I was hugging someone…

"Easy Kaxer…" came the suave reply. I looked up and saw none other than my worst enemy. Axel.

I shrieked and backed away, falling off his bed. The goose-down comforter flew up as I fell and landed on my head, covering me up again. I got on my hands and knees and peeked out from under it.

Axel's room was just like mine. A bed with four legs, a dresser, a mirror and, a chair. Axel was sitting in the chair and it had been dragged over to the bed.

I opened my mouth to say something but all that came out was a gulpy fish-gasp.

Axel crossed his arms across his chest and said, "Before you say anything, answer me this, Why the hell are you in my room?"

I thought about it… The evening's events unfolded in my head like a book.

"Demyx!" I screamed, throwing the comforter off my head and running back over to the wall I had fallen through, "Demyx! Answer me you—"

I stopped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked behind me and saw Axel looking at me like I was crazy.

"Demyx isn't here, Kaxer."

"I _know that_!" I pushed his hand off my shoulder and continued yelling, "He's in the Underworld! We went there to spar because I asked him to and then he gave me this rock that wards off this curse and I went right through him but then I couldn't get the rock and this kid came with these two _animals_ and hey fought with a _key_ and then Demyx and I started fighting him and then Demyx opened up a Darkness Door and I fell through and then I saw _you_ without your shirt on and—" I knew I wasn't making any sense but we had to help Demyx.

Axel knew I wasn't making sense either and he was giving me a look that said 'I think you need to sleep a little longer'.

"And it's all true!" I yelled.

"Ooookay," He said, "So Demyx in the Underworld."

"Yes."

"And the boy you saw… was he a blonde boy?"

"No. Brown hair. Really spikey. Like this…" I held my hands about four inches away from my head.

"Oh. Sora."

"So…ra?" I said, fumbling with the word. I didn't like how it fell off my tongue.

"Yes, Sora. Now, before you left, what did you see?" Axel asked.

"Well, it was kinda Dark but… Demyx was playing that sitar… and that boy—I mean Sora—was killing the last doppelganger and…that's all." I finished lamely.

As if on cue, A Darkness Door opened up in the wall and Demyx fell out of it. He had cuts and scrapes all over his face. Wounds littered his uniform and blood soaked through the black cloth leaving purple colored stains.

Axel and I looked at each other and ran over to him. I sat down near him and folded my knees under me. I bent over his face and lifted his head into my lap.

"Demyx, can you hear me?" I asked gently, "Demyx?"

His eyes cracked open slightly and he said, "Kaxer? Is that you?"

"Yes," I said, "Axel… what do we do?"

"Hang on," Axel was messing with Demyx's coat near the hem. I watched as he pulled as Demyx's shoe.

Demyx gasped and grabbed my hand, squeezing it until my knuckles popped and were grinding together. I made a face and cringed, and I'm pretty sure my eye started twitching.

"Oh geez…" said Axel.

"What?" Demyx and I asked in unison.

"It's broken," He said simply.

"What is?" I asked.

"His leg. It's snapped clean in half, the bone is," Axel shook his head. I looked at Demyx's face. Demyx just laughed.

"Wh—what's with him?" I asked as he laughed.

"Ever broken a bone?" Axel asked me. I shook my head. Axel started rolling up Demyx's pant leg and continued talking, "Well, you're lucky. I remember, when I was a somebody, these kids I knew, we were jumping off this little cliff and seeing who could go the farthest. I fell wrong and cracked my ankle."

"Okay," I said.

"Well, sometimes, it hurts so bad, it makes you say things you normally wouldn't say… or laugh when you feel pain…"

I watched as Demyx laughed his head off. I said, "Why?"

"Just is. I confessed my love for my best friend when I broke my leg. I didn't even know it," Axel chuckled, "But you know, I can't even remember her name now. I guess she has some other guy at the moment."

I looked at him. Love? What was that? I knew the word but… I couldn't place the feeling.

"Ah," smiled Axel, "The look. Roxas gave it to me the first time I mentioned 'love' to him. He didn't know how it felt. I guess you don't either, huh?"

I sighed, "No. I don't remember."

"Want me to…_teach you_?" asked Demyx, suddenly stopping his laugher. He reached up and touched my face with his gloved hand, "I could…"

I pulled my face away and took his hand in mine. I put his hand back on the ground and patted it.

"No thanks," I said.

"Well, if you ever want to, I've got a _leg up_ on the situation!" He cracked up.

"Is there any way we can shut him up?" I asked irritably.

"Do you have a hi-potion?" asked Axel.

"Um…Actually, I found one…" I reached inside my coat and pulled out a corked glass bottle. Inside was a clear liquid with little stars and moons floating in it.

"Ah, perfect. Unless you have anymore in there," he nodded to my chest, "Unlikely. You'll have to go get some."

"Get some?" I cried, "From where?"

"I dunno," he said, "Actually…"

He stood up and fished through his pockets. He produced two handfuls of munny. He thrust them at me and I cupped both my hands together. He dropped one handful into both my hands. I put it in my coat's pockets. Then, I took the other handful. Three more handfuls after that. Two regular sized ones, then a small one. After my coat pockets were getting bulgy, I started loading the side pockets of my black pants.

"I don't know how much that is, but the first merchant you see, buy as many potions as you can from him. I don't care if you use it all," Axel instructed me.

"Why do you care so much?" I asked.

"I don't," he said briskly, "But it's fun to pretend isn't it?"

"I mean, why do you care so much about Demyx?" I asked.

"Because. It's none of your business. Get going," he said, sitting in his chair.

I stared at him for a moment. Then I turned to the door and started to leave.

"Where are you going Stupid?" he asked.

"To buy potions Idiot!" I retorted.

"Well are you gonna _walk _all the way to another world? It'll be kinda hard, considering there's no _sidewalks _in _outer space_!" he yelled

"Oh! What a lovely idea!" cried Demyx, clapping his hands together girlishly.

"Well then open a Darkness Door."

"What, you can't?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," I said through gritted teeth, "I'm afraid I can't."

"Really?"

"Why would I lie about being lame?" I cried.

"For attention. Lot's of people do it." Axel shot back.

"What? Like you?"

"No, like you."

"Would you just shut up and open the stupid door?" I shouted.

"Ask nicely."

"Please—"

" 'Oh great Axel, Please, bless me with the privilege of walking through your Darkness Door…' " Crowed Demyx dramatically from the floor.

"Now _he_ has the right idea." Smiled Axel.

I shrieked a string of curses and said, "Fine! I'll do it _myself_!"

I pivoted on my heel and faced the wall. While closing my eyes, I stretched my hands out to it and wiggled my fingers. I mentally glared at the wall. Willing it to swirl into blackness.

It was outright embarrassing, standing there like that. I kept wiggling my fingers and thinking, _please open: Please open…_

"That's not necessary," I heard Axel say from his chair. I could imagine him smiling with amusement at my failure, "You know, I'd like to help you, but since you're being a stubborn Jack-ass, I won't. But if I were going to help, I'd tell you to be one with the darkness. Accept the darkness."

Okay, so maybe he _wasn't_ smiling at my defeat. Why was he helping me? Oh well, I decided, beggars can't be choosers. I took his advice and stopped my finger wiggling.

_Be one with the darkness…_

I experienced a cold, inky feeling, like I was being frozen. It was a lonely feeling. Something panged in my chest and the next thing I knew, I was being thrown through my teeny Darkness Door. Teeny or not, it was _MINE_. I had made a Darkness Door.

Goal #2 accomplished.

BREAK

A/N: It is at this time that I would like to thank my two reviewers,Rheebus and EliasDaemonwing. You two are awesome!


	5. Chapter Five

Fire and Ice

_Chapter Five_

I fell onto a cold, rocky surface. I quickly snatched my hood over my face and got to my feet. I was standing on a balcony sort of thing. There was a large stone archway with a bell hanging from it. I walked to it and read the engraving on it.

" 'A symbol of peace and prosperity in Port Royal.' Port Royal, huh?" I glanced around. Two cannons to the left of the archway, two to the right.

To my left, I saw a white, teddy-bear looking thing with purple wings standing there with a balloon that read, 'Shop'. I touched it and my hand passed right through it, but a whirlwind kicked up and suddenly, I was in a red-painted store with a black counter top. The teddy-bear thing stood on a stool behind the counter. He was operating a cash register.

"Welcome to Morlock's Moogle shop!" He chattered, "We also specialize in synthesis and we're having a sale today on Tents and Elven Bandanas! Kupo!"

"Hi-potions," I demanded, "How much are your hi-potions?"

"Retail price ma'am. One Hundred Munny," He said.

"How much will this buy me?" I asked, emptying the contents of all my pockets onto the table. The yellow coins started piling up like crazy.

"Um…two-hundred…six-hundred…carry the four… one-thousand… Aha!" He pointed at my pile of Munny with a fingerless hand and said, "Exactly One thousand, Four hundred, and twenty one munny."

"Okay. Get me all the hi-potions I can buy with that much."

"Yes'm."

He flew off and came back with hi-potion after hi-potion… Axel hadn't told me there would be that many!

"Um, you know what…" I glanced around the shop. I spied a black shoulder bag and grabbed it off the shelf. I thrust it at Morlock, "How much?"

"Retail Price ma'am. One hundred and twenty munny," He said.

"Well then, I want this, and use the rest for the hi-potions," I directed.

"Yes'm," he said, flying off with one of the potions.

He flew back and started beating on the register as I loaded all my potions into my new bag. They clinked together and I hoped they would not break. The register popped open and he deposited all my munny into the drawer.

"Your change ma'am," Said Morlock, flipping me a single munny coin.

"Thanks!" I called and ran out the door. I stepped out and was back on the rampart. Morlock's Hologram was behind me. I stretched out my hand. The darkness accepted me quicker this time and the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back in Axel's room again.

I jumped up and took the bag off my shoulder, walking over to him. He had put Demyx on the bed now and Demyx was sleeping. Many of the cuts looked smaller now and the bruises were all gone.

"Got them?" asked Axel.

"Yep," I said, emptying my bag onto the bed. The potions clinked together as I did

"Perfect," He said, Taking one and uncorking it with his teeth. He handed it to me and instructed me to pour some into my hand and rub it on the remaining cuts.

I started doing it to his face first. I dripped a few drops onto a small cut and rubbed it in. The cut disappeared without leaving any marks. I continued this until the potion was halfway gone and Demyx's face looked as good as new.

I turned to say something to Axel about what to do next, but as I did, I heard a grinding noise and the hair across the back of my neck stood up. I found the source of the noise and Axel was re-setting Demyx's leg.

"Ew!" I shrieked, turning around. Demyx cringed in his sleep and I knew it had to hurt.

Finally, it stopped and I looked back over at Axel. He was dripping potion-juice onto the spot where a large, black and blue bruise had appeared. It was slowly receding and Axel looked away momentarily.

"Hey Axel, I finished with his face," I said, pointing to Demyx's now scratchless face. Axel nodded his approval and without a word, he pointed to Demyx's coat. I stood there stupidly. What about the coat?

Axel huffed and set his potion on the floor. He walked over and gave me a look and said, "More trouble than she's worth…" I chose to ignore that and said nothing. He reached over and unzipped Demyx's coat and gently slipped on of his limp arms out of the sleeves.

I suppose it was at this very moment when I saw it. Beyond the Axel who, just this morning, told me I didn't belong here…there was a kinder, gentler one. The Axel who kindly cared for his friend's wounds, the Axel who mused fondly over his childhood days, The Axel who, even though I know he hates me, showed me how to open the Darkness Door.

"Axel…" I said, turning away from him, "I suppose I should…umm…"

"What?"

"I should…apologize… For this morning…you know in the lounge," I said, taking a deep breath, "I was only…being stupid, I guess. I really don't want to _replace_ your friends…"

Axel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, but my back was to him so I didn't know.

"But…" I twiddled my thumbs, "I just…Never mind…I'm sorry."

Had I been looking at Axel rather than his bedroom wall, I would have seen his smile. A small one, I was told by Demyx (who was secretly awake and watching the entire time) but a smile nonetheless.

Damn, why was I so tongue-tied? I sounded like a little kid. A stupid, shy little kid. Damn.

* * *

I had no idea what time it was when Demyx staggered through his Darkness Door and into Axel's room. Demyx told me later that it was around nine in the evening. Then, it was about thirty minutes later I stumbled upon Port Royal and Morlock the moogle. Ten minutes later I returned to Axel's room. Almost forty minutes later, we had fixed all of Demyx's wounds and he looked better than ever. His leg was completely healed (Ah, the power of those hi-potions) and he was sitting cross-legged on Axel's bed with his sitar.

"…Is to save every day, 'till eternity passes away, just to spend them with you…" sang Demyx, strumming out the chords on his guitar. He was refreshed by the hi-potions we had practically bathed him in and he readily informed Axel and I that he could 'totally pull an all nighter!' Oh _goody._

As one could tell by the state we were in, Axel and I could 'Totally NOT pull an all nighter'. Axel was sprawled in a chair at the foot of his bed, his head was lolled back and he snored quietly. I was on the floor, next to Axel's chair. My back was against it and I was slumped forward, my head sagging between my shoulders as I dozed lightly. I could still hear Demyx playing his sitar.

"…The box would be empty, except for the memories of how they were answered by you…" Demyx continued on in his song about time in bottles and boxes of memories.

The almost-conscious mind is a funny place. In mine at the time, I was shoving clocks into glass bottles and placing pictures in boxes. The pictures were photos I had never seen before and in each one was one of three people.

One was the girl from my dream when I fainted. The other two were her friends. The girl's name… I didn't know. The green-headed aloof one was called Eal. I supposed he was the oldest, he sure looked like it, by a year or two maybe. The other one, the lavender-haired one, was called Dyme. He looked like he was the same age as the girl. About fifteen.

Each picture was taken of them. Sometimes, they posed, sometimes not. Some were candid shots of them when making faces or laughing. Some were pictures of one person. Some were taken when there were only two. But a photo containing all three was the one that caught my attention.

It was a picture of the people in a reclining chair. The footrest was up and in the large chair was Eal, crossing his arms angrily. On his ankle was a white plaster cast. Dyme was sitting on the right armrest and was laughing and eating popcorn at the same time. The girl however, was on the left armrest. She was smiling, but her gaze rested on Eal. Her cheeks were pink as though she was blushing just thinking about him.

I liked that picture more than the others. It wasn't mine, but I took it anyways. I slipped it into my dream-world pocket, assuring my self that it was my mind after all, I can't steal from myself.

I finally fell out of the almost-conscious world into the sleep world, where everything is shady and cool. In the sleep world, darkness cradles you in your slumber, influencing your every nightmare.

* * *

As for nightmares, I didn't even have any. It was a good thing too; I don't think I would've handled it very well.

* * *

A/N:Review, please and thank you!

I still don't own Kingdom Hearts. Oh, the song that Demyx is singing is a Jim Croche song. It was what I was listening to when I wrote this chapter. I don't own that either.


End file.
